The Traffords Make The News AgainI am reminded often of the singing Von Trapp family of Austria from circa 1939, made famous in the movie, "The Sound Of Music", everytime I see yet another story about the Traffords. Only this family shoots together instead of singing. The Trafford family of Louisiana shoots at many of our Texas tournaments, and are familiar faces to us all. Now, they are more familiar to the many readers of the FITA website. Here is a great writeup/interview.

Photos From The Beijing Paralympics Archery CompetitionThere are a number of website locations with great photographs from one of the largest athletic competitions in the world just concluded in China.Every four years, two weeks following the Olympics, more than 4000 athletes arrive in the Olympic/Paralympic village. Directed by the IOC, these are the best athletes from their countries, competing in excellence just as the Olympians do, only with physical inconveniences to adapt to and overcome. They compete in the truest sense of the Olympian ideal of citius, altius, fortius.

This website has some excellent photos of the 4th day of the competitions, and features a number of American archers. The FITA website also observes the event with a large variety of photos. (and they keep all of the records as well.) Also, the Fimbio website has some photos. I just found a nifty little page with Lindsey, in China at this link. Finally on this topic, there are a large number of photos from the Beijing Paralympic at this link.

Youth Recognition Well DeservedEach year the USA Archery assesses the performance of archers in the US, both adult and junior, and chooses the US Teams. Congratulations to the two young Texan archers making the 2009 JR USAT (Archery Team): Tyler Shardt (mens recurve junior) and Kayla DeBord (ladies recurve junior.) Benjamin Human (mens compound junior) just missed by a narrow margin. Every year there are Texans on this short list of archery excellence, thanks to the works of JOADs and 4H clubs throughout the state.

Bob Ryder RetiresBob Ryder has devoted many years to collegiate archery, serving in many roles, and always working to the betterment of college kids everywhere. Here is a letter from the CAP regarding Bob's retirement. I, and every person who knows him, wish him well and hope to see him on the field for years to come.

A Drought EndsThe last medal won by a US woman in Olympic competition was twenty years ago, in 1988, when the US Women's Team won bronze in the Seoul Olympics (Denise Parker, Melanie Skillman & Debra Ochs). Thirty-six years ago, the last singles medal by the US was won by Luan Ryan who took the Gold medal in singles in the 1976 Olympics. Till Now.Lindsey Carmichael, competing in Beijing as the sole female archer on Team USA during the Paralympics, has won the bronze medal for the United States. It's been a long time, and it was a hard fought competition. Her dad/coach nearly had a heart attack at several points. Standing behind her during training, banging pots and pans and screaming while playing crowd noises, was NOT sufficient preparation for either Lindsey or her coach, for what lay in store in Beijing.She scored the highest pass of all female recurves in 12 arrow matchplay on that last day, shooting a 105 to her opponent's 101, to obtain the bronze. USA Archery will have a full story in the upcoming edition so I'll refrain from writing much here. Until you receive your issue, you can read her blog.One blog reviewer liked Lindsey's way with words.

Jeff Fabry of Tulare, California also won a bronze for the US in the open men's compound, adding to his bronze and gold medals from Athens. (Yes, due to their shooting with only one arm (!) or with varying degrees of paralysis, they are allowed to use compounds!)

The Order Of IkkosThe US Olympic Committee decided to commission a medal to be given to the coach of any athlete who medals in the Olympics/Paralympics. They called it, The Order of Ikkos, from an athlete and coach of antiquity. From the USOC: The Order of Ikkos gets its namesake from Ikkos of Tarentum, the first recorded Olympic coach in ancient Greece. Ikkos won the pentathlon at the 84th Olympiad in 444 B.C. and later became known for his coaching ability as he led two fellow Tarentine athletes to gold in the same event."The effort and dedication an Olympic coach must have in preparing elite athletes to compete on the world's biggest stage often goes unnoticed,"said Steve Roush, USOC Chief of Sports Performance."The Order of Ikkos medal officially recognizes the knowledge, hard work and personal commitment of those coaches whose athletes achieve the greatest success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Given on behalf of the athlete and the USOC, the medal serves as a token of appreciation for a job well done."

It arrived yesterday, and it is huge, massive, and beautiful to see, and it is as wide as my hand - just awesome. I cannot tell you how great of a reward this is, though I am not certain it is fair to single out one person (me) like this. I could not be the coach I am today without having been taught first by Jane Johnson some 11 years ago, then for years by Don Rabska and KiSik Lee. Don's willingness to first rescue Lindsey from injury and bad technique in 2003, and to selflessly allow me to learn from him at the same time demonstrates the true spirit of this award, and Lindsey's medal is a result of his teaching us both! This medal is truly the sum of the parts and I owe those other coaches so much. Jane, KiSik, and Don: you can have this medal anytime you want - you each had a part in Lindsey's performance!

Aggie Indoor and Longhorn Indoor Events for 2008The Texas A&M Aggie Indoor Invitational Tournament has been scheduled for October 24-26, 2008 and the tournament information can be found at this link. THE DEADLINE IS IN THREE DAYS, ON OCTOBER 17TH AT 10PM - entries not in their hands by then will pay a penalty! The Aggies have a great record of hospitality and are excellent at tournament organization with superb physical facilities as well. And while you are on that weblink, note that several other events have already been scheduled: US Indoor Nationals - February 27 - March 1, 2009ANDTexas Shootout - April 24-26, 2008- you might at well make hotel reservations now, cause you KNOW how tight hotel space in College Station can be, and you are going to shoot those as well, right??? .

The University of Texas will host the second half of the traditional indoor tournaments of the Texas Indoor Season, the Longhorn Invitational, at the usual location in Anna Hiss Gym on the UT Campus. Archers routinely shoot their personal bests in this small, cozy, (ok, downright crowded) archery gym.The link to the registration information is

HERE, and the deadline is November 14th at 10PM. To locate the gym, use this link to my map on google maps. Parking in the garages is HIGHLY recommended as the parking cops are merciless - no backing into a slot, no allowing any part of your car to hang over the lines, beware! There are so few street spots to park on campus that they get kinda militant about enforcing rules and the fine is $50, to start with and it goes up from there. So use the garage. :)

Surprise!Eric Bennett, paralympic archer, returned from competing in Beijing to discover that his hometown was outlawing archery on general principles. As a safety concern, according to the sheriff. Fortunately, a number of archery interests came together and spoke with the city council, and carried their point of view. Eric, Kari Granville, a rep from Arizona Fish and Game, and others made a calm, reasoned, and persuasive argument that enabled the council to better understand the safe nature of archery AND TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. To read a writeup covering the story, use this link, and perhaps, bookmark it for the day when YOU need it in YOUR community.

I'm including the "call to alert" letter posted on a public archery forum, from a resident of the town of Surprise, Arizona, which was posted at

this link on the Archery Talk Forum on September 20th:The local paper posted an article dated 09-19-08 that the city counsel was preparing to pass an ordinance that banned archery in the City of Surprise, unless it was at an approved range. There are no ranges in our city. I sent a letter to my representative, and have posted it below, along with email address. Please send support for a modification for the ordinance, to include the use of home ranges and schools.

thanks,

My letter to Mr. Williams:Mr. Williams,I am a relatively new resident of Surprise, with our new home that is built in Surprise Farms. I am a police officer for El Mirage, and recently transferred down as a detective from the Flagstaff Police Department. Family is important to me, and activities that promote family time together top that list. While in Flagstaff, I had the opportunity to shoot archery in my backyard, with my children and wife. It is a pastime that we all enjoy. I have a history with the sport of archery, to include bow hunting and shooting archery for Glendale Community College in the early 1990's, and being ranked nationally. I have represented the State of AZ in a tournament against archers from the State of California, Baja California and Sonora Mexico. We took 1st place individually and as a team.

Archery once was taught in high schools in AZ and across the nation. It is a pastime that can be shared for generations. My father taught me to shoot archery, and I have taught my children. The proposed ban of shooting archery in our city at facilities that are not deemed "target ranges", limits that family interaction. The City of Surprise does not currently have an archery range. The closest archery range is the facility at the Ben Avery Shooting facility, which is approximately 1 hour away from my house. A total of 2 hours of driving time (to and fro) for approximately 30 minutes of shooting with my children is a detriment to my family's personal quality time together.

As a police officer, I understand the call for the general safety of the public. I understand that the "wants" of an individual are outweighed by the "needs" of the many. However, I respectfully request that the counsel review the proposed ordinance carefully and perhaps apply words that allow for private home ranges, if safety precautions are heeded. I understand that the ordinance will also ban the firing of pneumatic weapons, which can be used for intentionally destructive purposes, i.e... breaking windows.

The difference between firing a pneumatic weapon and archery equipment boils down to the traceable, recoverable evidence should a mishap occur. A pellet fired from a gun is non-distinct. An arrow fired from a bow is unique, often with different color feathers/vanes, color and material of the shaft, and color of the nock. Often, one arrow will be part of a matched set that the archer owns.

The home range can be constructed in the privacy of a person's fenced, back yard. The fence would provide privacy from neighbors, and protection from an errant arrow. The target shall be placed so that it is not in a direct line with an adjoining neighbor's residential structure. The target shall also be constructed of a material that adequately stops the arrow, and prevents it from completely passing through the intended target.

The lack of an archery range in the City of Surprise will potentially have an effect on the game animals hunted in the State. Inadequate practice could result in the wounding of game animals that may not have been wounded if bowhunters had the opportunity to practice at their residences with an adequate practice facility.

The ordinance would also potentially prohibit the teaching of archery at the local high schools. In a society where apathy and the lack of exercise for children has resulted in enormous amounts of childhood obesity, removing the ability to teach an outdoor sport to children may have long term effects that are not immediately realized.

I respectfully request, as a representative for my district, that you word the ordinance that would provide safety for the public, yet not restrict honest measures taken by home owners to have an adequate home archery range in the privacy of their own fenced back yard, as long as an adequate target/backstop is provided. If the arrows need to be even more traceable, make it an ordinance that requires the archer's initials be embossed or painted on the arrow. In addition, please word the ordinance to include the ability to have archery programs at local schools and public ranges.

I am posting a copy of this letter on message boards via the internet with email addresses for each district's representative. This is an attempt to rally support on the behalf of archers in our city.

Thank you in advance.Respectfully,John E. HeffelfingerSurprise District 3 resident

FacebookFacebook is not just for your kid anymore. I had been a member for some time but when I first joined, it was pretty, well, good for college freshmen. So I didn't get much involved - if you are not disciplined it can really eat up your time!But I rejoined awhile back and at this point it has become a pretty good way to keep track of your friends on the archery field, in between tournaments, and to stay in touch with those you choose to. You should probably check it out, regardless of your age or computer expertise. And be sure to send me a friend notice when you do! Ron